Learning to Love Again
by HermioneJeanGrangerrr
Summary: Emily Miller is a popular and gifted witch. She is dating James Sirius Potter who is the hottest guy in school and son of the famous Harry Potter. Her life is suddenly turned upside down though when she discovers she is actually Voldemort's daughter. Her life begins to crumble and she is soon faced with many hardships. Will James stay with her? Or will she lose him forever?
1. Chapter 1: An Unwanted Realization

**This is my second story on this website so I hope you guys will enjoy this. I am still writing another story but I really wanted to share this one. Hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

 **Prologue**

It was a cold night in England's countryside and it was raining heavily. No one was outside except one woman who was walking down the street with a hood over her face and an infant in her arms. The woman looked like she'd once been very beautiful but now her features were sunken in and her eyes shone with madness. The infant had been born a month earlier and it was wailing in the cold. The woman looked down at the baby, annoyed but continued to walk towards a house in the distance. She was going to give her daughter to a family she'd been watching, the Millers. They seemed like good enough people and Bellatrix knew that if anyone found out who the child's father was, she'd be doomed to a life of misery and rejection. Bellatrix may have been a merciless person but she loved the child's father dearly. Anything that was his was important so she wanted to ensure that the child had a good life.

As much as Bellatrix would like to keep the child for herself and raise her properly, she knew she couldn't. She was on the run from the ministry, she had been for years, and she knew she'd eventually get caught. Even the best criminals do and she didn't want ministry officials to get a hold of her child too. Eventually Bellatrix reached the Millers house and she laid her baby on the front doorstep and knocked. She waited until she heard footsteps before apparating away. The Millers opened the door and saw the beautiful baby on their doorstep. The couple had always wanted a child of their own but were never fortunate enough to have one. They took the baby inside and decided to name her, Emily.

* * *

 **17 Years Later**

It was a warm day in June and the school was buzzing with the anticipation of summer break. I was wearing denim shorts and a striped crop top with sandals and I was walking next to my boyfriend, James. We were walking towards the lake, one of our favorite spots to go together.

"So what are you planning on doing over the summer?" I asked curiously.

"Hanging out with you of course." James said smiling and winking at me.

"No seriously, what are you doing?" I said, rolling my eyes.

"Well my only plans are playing quidditch with my family and hanging out with my friends."

"That sounds fun," I said. "We definitely need to practice quidditch over the summer, we're starting our seventh year and I really want to win next season."

"Yeah we would have won this season if it hadn't been for those cheating Slytherins."

This season Gryffindor lost to Slytherin in the final match because a Slytherin Beater took out our goalie, Alex Timmings. James had been talking about it ever since and vowed to win his last year. At my time at Hogwarts, I'd been on the team ever since second year and we'd won every season except this years season. James had been on the team since first year and they'd won every year up until now, that's why James was so pissed.

"Yeah but whatever, we'll beat them this season." I said and I pulled James towards me and kissed him lightly on the lips. He smiled against my lips and pulled me even closer to him.

"What am I going to do without you for two months?" He mumbled against my lips.

I pulled away and looked at him. "I don't know, it's not like we can apparate now or anything." I said sarcastically.

"Well I'll be frequently apparating to your house, just so you know." James said slyly and he pulled me down to the ground and started to kiss me, pulling me on top of him.

"Excuse me," A voice said suddenly. I shot off of James and looked up at the voice that had spoken. It was Professor Clearwater, the Transfiguration teacher. "The headmistress would like to speak to both of you." She turned around and motioned for James and I to follow her. I looked at James questioningly and he shrugged. I thought that maybe his dad came to say hi, James said he did that sometimes.

We followed Professor Clearwater to the passage leading up to the Headmistresses office and she mumbled the password and stairs appeared. When James and I reached the top landing I saw Jame's parents, as well as mine, standing there. James's parents waved at me and my parents came up to hug me.

"What's going on?" James and I said in unison. We looked at each other and laughed, that happened a lot.

"Oh you two spend too much time together." Ginny Potter said jokingly, shaking her head.

"We do too." Harry said looking at his wife with a knowing look. "Especially when we first started dating." She smiled back at him happily and I heard James make a retching noise. I slapped him playfully on the arm and looked at him.

"They're so cute." I whispered and he turned to glare at me.

"I hate it when people say that."

"But it's true." He just looked at me and rolled his eyes.

Just then the Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall came into the room with a grim expression. Her presence commanded silence and all the conversations in the room stopped.

She cleared her throat before speaking. "It has come to my attention that Voldemort had a daughter." McGonagall said rather bluntly and everyone looked at each other, dumbfounded.

"Headmistress, may I ask why we are here? None of us have anything to do with this and I don't want to drag my son into this." Ginny said.

"Mom-" James started, annoyed.

"Silence," Mcgonagall said and once again the room was silent. "Like I was saying he had a daughter and it is important your son knows because he knows her and I think he might be in danger, as well as all of you."

"That's preposterous!" Harry cried, full of disbelief. "There is no way Voldemort could have had a daughter."

"It's not so preposterous actually. The mother, Bellatrix Lestrange, has recently come forward to claim this daughter." McGonagall challenged. "And her daughter is sitting in this very room. Her daughter is you, Emily." McGonagall said, turning to look at me. I froze, unable to speak or even breathe. This can't be happening, I am _not_ the daughter of a monster. "Isn't it true that you adopted Emily?" McGonagall asked, looking at my parents.

"Someone left her on our doorstep." My dad said. His words were the final blow to my disbelief. How could my parents not tell me I was adopted? I was angry but I was more hurt at the fact they didn't tell me. "There's no way our sweet Emma is the daughter of You Know Who though. She _can't_ be."

"I'm afraid she is," McGonagall said gravely.

"Why didn't you guys tell me I wasn't yours?" I asked warily.

"You _are_ ours Emily." My mom said bitterly. "This doesn't change anything. It doesn't matter who you came from, we raised you."

My mom walked over and hugged me but my dad just looked at me like he was seeing me for the first time.

"Honey, Emily can't live with us anymore," My dad said, looking at my mother.

I looked at my dad, confused.

"Why not?!" My mother asked angrily.

"Because she could be dangerous!" My dad said, refusing to make eye contact with me. At his words, I could almost feel my heart ripping in half. All the memories I had of him taking me to see movies or going out for ice cream came flooding back. I could feel tears rushing to my eyes but I refused to cry in front of all these people.

"Well then you can leave," My mother stated firmly. "Emily is my daughter and _nothing_ can change that."

My heart lifted at my mother's words but I could still feel the tears in my eyes.

"Fine," my father said. "I'll be packed and gone before you even get home." Then my father stomped out of the room angrily. I had no idea where he was going but I had a feeling I wouldn't see him anytime soon. Part of me wondered if I'd ever see him again.

"Well what are you going to do?" I asked, looking at professor McGonagall gloomily.

"Well as you can imagine, I don't fancy having you here," Mcgonagall said. "But you haven't done anything wrong, _yet_ , so I can't kick you out. The teachers will be keeping a close eye on you though and if you put one _toe_ out of line, you are gone. Do you understand?"

"Yes Ma'am," I said. "Thank you." I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from saying something snarky. This whole conversation was absurd, I had _no idea_ I was Voldemort's daughter. Why are they so afraid of me, haven't I proven I'm different than him?

I looked to my left where James had been standing and saw that he wasn't there. He was standing next to his parents. James wasn't looking at me but Mr. and Mrs. Potter were glaring at me.

After an awkward pause, McGonagall spoke. "Well you two can get going," she said looking at James and I. "I'd like to say a few things to your parents."

Before we were out the door though, Ginny began to speak. "Son stay away from her, _please_. It's for your own good."

James stopped walking and turned around to face his mom. "Don't worry mom, I wont be going _anywhere_ near her."

I stopped in my tracks, taken aback. Throughout this whole conversation I was sure James would stand by me. He hated people treating him like _Harry Potter's_ son. He had always told me that it didn't matter where you came from, it just mattered where you go. Why was he suddenly judging me based on my parents?

James turned around and continued to walk quickly towards the door. I walked slower so that the Potter's wouldn't think I was following him. When I was out of sight though, I ran after him and caught up to him as he walked quickly down the corridors. It looked like he was headed outside. I called his name but he ignored me and walked even faster.

I sprinted towards him and grabbed his arm and I pulled him around to face me. "James please tell me that you don't care," I said desperately. "It isn't a big deal."

"You are the daughter of the _monster_ who tried to kill my dad." James said angrily. "Your father caused my father a lot of grief and suffering. So yeah it is a _big deal_."

"I can't help who my parents are," I said just as angrily. "You used to always tell me that it didn't matter where you came from, it mattered where you go."

"But you're _his_ daughter, who knows what you're capable of."

"I'm still the same Emily I've always been. We've dated since fifth year and we were best friends before that."

"Well not anymore. I would never be friends with or date Voldemort's daughter," He spat.

"James please-" I begged.

"Stay away from me," James said and he turned around and walked outside. I followed him and grabbed his arm again.

"James please, don't breakup with me. I-I love you."

I really did love James. He had been my best friend since second year, when I'd joined the quidditch team.

"You love me? Well that's a shame because I sure as hell don't love you."

His words made made any traces of sadness disappear and it was replaced with a new emotion. _Anger_. It boiled up inside me and just when I thought I was about to explode, a powerful wind started up. Realizing I'd caused the wind, I tried to calm down. Luckily I was able to after only a few seconds and the wind stopped.

"Wow you really are a freak." James said scornfully. "It's a real shame I've wasted so much time dating you."

The anger I'd had just a few seconds before disappeared and it was replaced with the same sadness I'd been feeling earlier. I could feel hot tears running down my face and smudging my perfectly applied makeup. I turned away from him and began to walk quickly towards the castle, shielding my face from onlookers. I hurried to Gryffindor tower and ran up the stairs to my dorm. Luckily none of my friends were there so I didn't have to explain what had happened. This had to have been the worst day of my life but something told me, it'd only get worse.

* * *

 **The next part of this story will pick up with Emily starting her seventh year. Thanks for reading! :)**


	2. Chapter 2: Back to Hogwarts

**3 months later...**

"Em, get up!" my mom shouted, "Or else we won't have time to get everything." I groaned into my pillow and didn't move. After a few minutes, I heard my mom's footsteps coming up the stairs. I put my head under my pillow.

"Go away!" I mumbled from under my pillow. It was way too early to deal with her right now.

"Emily May Miller!" she said, opening my door. "I know you've had a rough summer but you can't hide forever. You haven't left the house in 3 months."

I sat up and grabbed a magazine from off my nightstand and shoved it in her face. "That's why. I'm a freak and I don't want people staring at me." The magazine had my face plastered on the front page with the words, "Voldemort's Daughter at Hogwarts?" There had already been dozens of articles about me over the summer but this one made me the angriest. I turned to the article in the magazine and handed it to my mom. I had already memorized the article by heart;

 ** _"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry prides itself as being one of the safest places in the world. Maybe it was at one point but not anymore. Voldemort's daughter, Emily Miller, is currently enrolled and the Headmistress refuses to expel her. If Emily Miller had any decency (which we doubt she has considering who her father is) she would leave Hogwarts for the sake of the Potter family. They have been through so much and it isn't fair to them that their children should have to see the child of the man who caused their parents so much grief. She could also be a threat to the students there. We already have confirmation that she speaks Parseltongue and is skilled in the dark arts. Apparently, she also loses control of her temper sometimes, resulting in violent outbursts. She's already sent a student to the hospital wing before. We got a quote from Lily Potter saying, 'She is the child of a dangerous man. She can't be trusted and she could hurt a lot of people. We do however, respect Minerva McGonagall's decision to not expel her. We recognize that you can't expel someone due to their parentage but we greatly encourage the staff at Hogwarts to keep an eye on her.' So, parents be warned, you may not want to send your kids to Hogwarts this year. However, if you do, make sure to send them to school prepared and protected. -Rita Skeeter_**

My mom looked up, her face livid. "How dare they? That article is lying! You don't have violent outbursts and you've never sent someone to the hospital wing. And you are not skilled in the dark arts! This whole article is absurd! Where'd they get this information?"

I just shrugged but I had a feeling I knew where it came from. _James_. He hated me now and he'd like nothing more than to spread lies about me all over the wizarding world. The thought angered me but instead of feeling angry, I just felt betrayed and hurt. Even if James didn't want to date me or be my friend, I'd at least think he'd spare me from the wrath of the media. He loathed how much he and his family were in it. I thought he of all people would spare anyone from the media but I guess I overestimated how much I meant to him.

This article would have angered me but there had already been dozens of articles before it. Some even worse than this. "Mom it doesn't even matter. People are still hurting from what my dad did. They can't take their anger out on him because he's dead. I'm the next best thing."

My mom's eyes softened and she sat down on my bed. "That doesn't justify what they're doing to you."

"I know."

"Look Em, I've been thinking, why don't you go to America after this school year? They aren't as caught up with Voldemort as everyone here is. It'd be like a fresh start and you'd be able to find a good job somewhere and get a nice house or apartment. You could make friends and be in relationships where it wouldn't matter who your dad was. Then I'd join you over there in a few years after I retire. But you have to get through this school year and finish your education at Hogwarts. I've already tried to transfer you to Ilvermorny but they don't accept transfer students past year 4. I'd say you can skip your last year but what future would an uneducated witch have?"

I looked up at my mom with wide eyes. That sounded perfect….but I'd have to get past this school year. After seeing my mom's vision though, one year out of the rest of my life was easy. No matter how bad Hogwarts ended up being, I could live with it for one year. "I think that's a great idea."

"Good," my mom said, beaming. "So, let's get to Diagon Alley! You have to have school supplies." And then she strode out of my room. I smiled as she left and shook my head. I could tell she was pleased with herself. She was a real-estate agent for all sorts of magical properties and she truly was a gifted saleswoman. She knew all the right things to say in order to persuade me to go to Hogwarts. She was good.

An hour later me and my mom were in Diagon Alley. As we walked down the road, I saw people point at me and whisper. When they caught me looking, they'd quickly avert their gaze. I tried not to let my anger and annoyance show on my face and I just kept telling myself: one more year. That's all and then I'd be in America. Maybe I'd be on some beach in Malibu or Orlando. Maybe I'd even be living in a penthouse in New York. These thoughts comforted me and I continued to walk with my head held high.

We quickly got all my supplies and then I asked my mom if we could stop at the Leaky Cauldron to get something to drink.

Once we got inside, my mom patted me on the back. "I was really proud of the way you handled everything out there," said my mom, "You handled it with the grace of a true Miller woman."

"Thanks mom," I said. My mom gave me a sideways hug and we made our way to a table in the corner after ordering 2 Butterbeers.

"You know if you weren't so pretty you could probably blend in better," my mom stated.

I rolled my eyes at her. "I couldn't blend in no matter how I look. The whole wizarding world has seen my face by now and they hate me for who my father was. I could-"

I stopped talking when I realized my mom wasn't looking at me. I glanced to where she was looking and my heart stopped. The _Potters_. I turned to look at my mom and found her looking at them too. I expected her to look angry but she looked scared. The fact that my mom was scared, made me more nervous than I already was. I hadn't seen the Potters since leaving King's Cross Station at the beginning of the summer and after reading all the things they've said about me, I was angry but I was also scared because the Potters had a lot of influence.

I scanned the Potter family and found James. When I looked at him, I felt anger but I couldn't help but feel a sense of longing. I'd give anything for him to hold me in his arms one more time…

I quickly snapped myself out of my thoughts and focused. If my mother and I were seen, this would not end well for us. I turned to my mother, who was still looking at the Potters.

"Mom," I hissed. "Don't stare, we can't be seen. Let's just keep our heads down."

"I'm not going to submit to the Potters, Em. So what if they see us? I'm tired of fearing them. They're only one family."

"The most influential family in the country! This wont end well if they see us."

"What could happen? We're in public, the Potters wouldn't want to tarnish their reputation by starting anything."

My mom was kind of right. Mr. and Mrs. Potter wouldn't start anything in public and neither would Albus or Lily. But James would. I snuck one more glance at the Potters and to my horror, I realized James was staring right at me. He was smirking and he waved. I looked away and turned to my mother. She was glaring at him.

"Mom!" I said. Don't stare!"

She turned to look at me. "Emily, you need to stand up for yourself. You can't be ashamed of yourself because of who your father was and you can't let others shame you for it."

Inspired by my mothers words, I looked back at James. I shot him a very forced and sarcastic smile and I waved. He looked taken aback but quickly recovered and smiled at me. This smile was cold and vicious, not the warm, friendly smile I was used to. But I didn't back down. I sent him a cold glare and I tried to convey as much hate and anger behind the glare that I could muster. He turned away and I smiled triumphantly. Then I realized he had turned to embrace a blonde girl. I stared at the girl, trying to see her face and when I did, my heart dropped. It was Hazel. She was my best friend, we met on Hogwarts Express before the start of our first year. She hadn't contacted me all summer, none of my friends had. I told myself that James and her had always been friends, and that was all it was. But then James bent down to kiss her and that's when I could feel the tears rushing to my eyes. I looked away and my mom grabbed my hand comfortingly but I jerked it away.

"I'm fine," I muttered. My mom didn't argue, she just looked at me pityingly. We drank our Butterbeer in silence and when we finished we got up to leave. As we were walking out, I turned back to look at the Potter family. They had sat at a table in the corner and Hazel was with them. They were laughing and James had his arm around Hazel. Only one year ago, that had been me. I turned away and quickly walked through the door.

* * *

 **One week later...**

I was at King's Cross Station and I was looking around for my friends. I finally spotted them behind a couple of nervous first years. I had two best friends, Hazel and Nicole. Nicole had curly black hair and she looked a lot more tan since the last time I saw her. Hazel had long, silky blonde hair and bright green eyes. I couldn't help but compare myself to her. I had dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. I was also petite unlike Hazel who was 5' 7". I thought it was so weird that James had started dating her because we were totally different. I was a talented witch but my grades were average. I was also a huge quidditch fan and I was on the Gryffindor team. Hazel on the other hand was very bookish and made straight O's on almost all her assignments. She also thought quidditch was boring and had no interest in even getting on a broom. I was dumbfounded about how they'd ended up together.

Even though I knew it was a bad idea, I started to walk towards them. I was hoping they'd give me a chance to explain everything and tell them my side of the story. When I was about ten feet away from them, Hazel noticed me and scowled. I kept walking anyways and eventually we were face to face.

"Hey," I said. I hoped they couldn't hear how nervous I was.

"Hey Em," Nicole said.

"Don't talk to her," Hazel snapped angrily. "She's _his_ daughter. James told me all about how you were using him to get to his family. You're sick."

"I didn't even know I was his daughter!" I shouted. I noticed a few heads turned in our direction and a few people started whispering.

"Seriously Hazel, we know Emily." Nicole said. "She's not violent or evil. I've never even seen her kill a bug. Besides, she's had plenty of opportunities to hurt him and his family if she really wanted to."

"Then how do you explain how out of all the people she could have dated she chose James?" Hazel asked. "It's way too much of a coincidence. And how could her parents not know? A baby shows up on their doorstep and they just go with it? Anyways, haven't you been reading the news? All of them are saying that she could be extremely dangerous, especially when she's angry and you can't deny she has a temper."

I really did have a temper but that was the only thing my father and I shared. "She does have a temper but so do you," said Nicole. "And she dated James because he's the best looking guy in our year. You're overthinking this."

"You're a fool Nicole. I won't be friends with _her_ or anyone else who claims to be her friend. So who's it going to be, me or _her_?"

"If you want me to choose then I choose Emily. You're being a bitch."

"Fine!" Hazel said and she walked away angrily.

"Nicole, thank you-" I started to say but she cut me off.

"Emily don't thank me. We're best friends, I would never let who your dad is ruin that." I hugged her and I could feel my eyes watering. When I pulled away, I saw that she was smiling.

"You didn't write to me all summer and then I saw Hazel and James together. I didn't know what to think."

"I didn't write to you because I didn't know what to say. At the end of last year, after everything happened, you quit talking to us or hanging out. You just stayed in our room. Every time I tried to talk to you, you'd get really distant. I wanted to give you some space and I was hoping you'd write to me. When you didn't, I thought maybe you didn't want to be my friend anymore."

"Nicole I'm so sorry, I didn't even think about that." It was true, I thought she'd write to me if she wanted to. I didn't realize that she was probably wondering why I wasn't writing to her.

"It's fine. I'm just happy to have you back." She smiled at me and we pulled our luggage towards the train.

I was struggling to lift my trunk into the train and Nicole smirked. "Allow me your evilness," she said. She curtseyed and we both started laughing. We boarded the train and found an empty compartment near the back. Everyone who opened the compartment door, either made a snide comment about me or got really scared and apologized. At first I found it really upsetting but then me and Nicole made it into a game to try and freak everyone out. We would pretend to be muttering dark incantations and when someone walked in, we'd start hissing at them. We made one first year run off crying and screaming.

We were only on the train and I was having a better year than I had hoped for. Maybe this year wouldn't be so bad.


End file.
